


A flower by any other name

by thewayofthetrashcompactor (BriarLily)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Universe, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-08 15:37:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18897586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriarLily/pseuds/thewayofthetrashcompactor
Summary: Rose has some questions about how the last Jedi ended up with the Jedi killer.Post Ep IX/TRoS friendship fluff





	1. Rey

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this as a pair of ficlets for KMT's birthday back in January, but only just getting around to posting them anywhere. The world can always use more Rose <3

"So what's he like?" Rose asks. 

Rey starts, the question interrupting her concentration over a complicated legal document Leia had given her to try to understand. 

"What?" she says, looking up from the pages filled with complicated Basic to where Rose sits sprawled on the couch with a holopad. The pad rests on her stomach as she looks over at Rey. 

"Kylo Ren. What's he like?"

"Ben," Rey corrects automatically, then flushes when Rose smirks. 

"Sure,  _ Ben _ . Same question."

Rey shakes her head slightly as she considers the question. Ben encompasses so many things to her, it seems impossible to answer. "He just...is?"

Rose snorts. "He 'is' to you a whole lot different than he is to anyone else, even the general. Anyone can see the way he looks at you. And you don't treat him like the monster everyone else does. So what's his deal?"

"Finn doesn't treat him like a monster," Rey protests, dodging the question, then realizes something. "And neither do you."

Rose purses her lips thoughtfully. "I don't think Finn knows what to make of him," she says. "He doesn't want to talk about it yet either. And I can't hate him because we would have all been dead if he hadn't turned when he did. But he could have changed his mind sooner too and saved lives. It's complicated, so I'm thinking about it. You know him better, and..." She hesitates, then continues firmly. "I trust you."

"I -- Thank you." Rey stammers. 

"And you trust him," Rose observes, looking at her intently. 

Rey pauses for a moment, but it can't be denied. Ben has broken her trust before, but he came back in the end. She'd put her life and those of her friends in his hands, and they'd all come out on the other side. Mostly. "Yes."

"How?" Rose asks, her dark eyes still watching Rey. Not with any anger, just open curiosity for a story she doesn't know. 

Rey's mouth works as she decides where to start. Rose sits up from the couch and joins her at the table. "It's the Force," Rey tells her. "We're connected. We've seen into each other's heads. And he's still a mess, and still figuring things out, but he's made his choice. He's not going back again." Not that there's anything to go back to, unless he decides to revive the Sith singlehandedly. He'd done a thorough job of burning the Order in his wake.

"Wow," Rose says, and pauses to consider. "That sounds...intimate."

Rey flushes. "I guess," she says. "It was a lot to get used to at first. Especially with everything happening. But then it started to feel...right. Like a part of me. And it's nice to be able to reach out to him. Know I'm not alone." She looks away. She's never talked about her bond with Ben to anyone besides Leia and Finn, and she doesn't know what to do with the vulnerable feeling exposing this part of herself evokes. 

Even though Rose sometimes trips over her own words and still gets nervous around Leia, her idol, she has a knack for saying the right thing. "People used to say they thought Paige and I were in each other's heads, with how close we were. It wasn't the Force, but sometimes you just  _ know _ people. When the entire universe keeps falling apart, it's good to have someone to hold onto, you know?"

Rey breathes out, shaky. "Yeah."

Rose nods, half to herself. Her eyes glisten. "I'm glad you had someone like that."

"Thanks," Rey says quietly. She'd heard in passing about Paige from Finn and Poe. She's not experienced in comforting people besides Ben, and it's different to not have that connection to the other person's feelings. "I'm sorry about your sister."

Rose sniffs. "Thanks." She wipes her eyes. "It was hard being here, after. But there's still good people."

Rey smiles, thinking about how she's seen her first friend and Rose sitting close together in odd corners of ships and the new base. "Like Finn?" she teases.

It's Rose's turn to blush. "Yeah," she says, voice quietly pleased. "It's not the same, and I still miss her. But he helps." She sniffs again and rubs her nose. 

Rey doesn't know quite what to say, so she nods. Tentatively, she reaches out for Rose's hand resting on the table next to her and squeezes it, like she's seen Leia do to grieving officers. Rose turns her hand and squeezes back gratefully. They sit together, both lost in their thoughts, until Rose sighs and gently pulls back. Rey retrieves her own slightly sweaty hand gratefully, still unsure how these sorts of things are supposed to go. Rose brushes her hair back from her face, though it springs back into place, curling away from her cheeks. 

"Hungry?" she asks Rey, eyes still red-rimmed, but smiling. 

"Always," Rey says eagerly.

"I hear they got a shipment of real veg from the New Republic," Rose says as they stand.

"Really? I don't think I've ever had any," Rey says, setting aside her holopad. 

"Neither have I," Rose admits. "But it's got to be better than those bars." 

Together, they make their way to the mess hall, ready for a good meal. 


	2. Ben

Ben leans over his tray, setting himself to his usual goal of eating as quickly as possible. His mother had asked him to make an effort to be a part of the day-to-day of the Resistance-turned-New Republic, in an attempt to ‘humanize’ him, make him less of the Supreme Leader and more of a face people got used to seeing around. It hasn’t seemed to make much a different so far; people still give him a wide berth. The looks they give him tell him they never intend to forget what he’s done. Not that they should. He deserves anything they do to him. 

So he takes his meals with the rest of the troops to make his mother happy, so they can both pretend that things will get better, and shovels food down as fast as he can to make the experience last as little time as necessary. Rey joins him when she can, but the last Jedi keeps busy, and more often than not, he brings food to her when she gets caught up in the Jedi texts or underneath an x-wing. He eats at odd hours too, when he thinks the fewest people will be around. He keeps his head bent, not making eye contact with the few officers left in the room. 

Lost in his own thoughts, he doesn’t notice someone approaching him from the side until a tray lands on the table next to him. He jerks and looks over at the newcomer, instinctively ready for a fight. A few of the Resistance have decided to try themselves against him to get their revenge, but Leia had put an end to that. The newcomer doesn’t look like one of those though. Short with dark hair that curls at the ends, she seems almost familiar. He frowns, then the connection settles in place. He’s run across her a couple of times visiting Rey in the hangar. She spends time with FN-2 -- Finn as well. One of the mechanics. She sticks out in his memory as one of the few that don’t flinch away at his approach. He eyes her warily. 

“I’m Rose,” she says and sticks out a hand. He looks at it, then slowly extends his own. 

“Ben,” he says awkwardly. 

“I know,” she says. She swings her legs over the bench and sits next to him. He flushes. Of course she knows. Who in the galaxy doesn’t? 

She starts eating and he watches in disbelief. She really intends to eat with him like there’s nothing odd about what she’s done at all. He opens his mouth to ask what she’s doing, but can’t think of a way to say what he’s thinking without his mother berating him for it if she heard, so he closes it again and returns to his food. He takes a few bites, and then his curiosity gets the better of him. Rude or not, he has to know.

“Don’t you have anyone else to eat with?” he asks, half looking at her, half at his food. 

She shrugs. “Yeah. But I felt like eating now, and you looked lonely.”

He blinks. Not what he’d expected. He takes another huge bite of food to avoid replying. She doesn’t seem to mind, and keeps eating as if nothing had happened. In between bites, she tells him about the ship she’s working on at the moment, and how she can’t get the parts to fix it the way she wants, but how she and Rey are figuring it out. He nods and eats his own food. He finishes before she does, but for some reason, he sits there and watches as she finishes hers. He blames his mother’s etiquette lessons.

She finishes talking and clears the food off her plate. When she’s done, she stands and smiles down at him. “It was nice talking to you. See you tomorrow?”

He stares at her, then unsticks his throat. “Yeah. Sure.”

She nods and smiles again, only a little nervous, then takes her tray away to be washed. He watches her go, still confused as to what exactly just happened. 

He unfolds himself from the bench and picks up his tray to follow her. He wonders if she’ll actually be back tomorrow. 

Maybe his mother was onto something after all.

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find me on [pillowfort as thelastjedi](https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/665932), [tumblr as thewayofthetrashcompactor](https://thewayofthetrashcompactor.tumblr.com), and [twitter as briartrash](https://twitter.com/briartrash/status/1087077410649096198)
> 
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> Comments are always appreciated!


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